nabilone for non-motor symptoms in parkinson's disease

Conditions: Parkinson Disease

Summary: this is a randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, enriched enrollment randomized withdrawal study assessing the efficacy and safety of nabilone for non-motor symptoms in patients with parkinson´s disease. nabilone is an analogue of tetrahydrocannabinol (thc), the psychoactive component of cannabis. nabilone acts as a partial agonist on both cannabinoid 1 (cb1) and cannabinoid 2 (cb2) receptor in humans and therefore mimics the effect of thc but with more predictable side effects and less euphoria. part 1 is an open-label dose adjustment phase of the study. in eligible patients, a screening period is followed by an open-label nabilone dose optimization phase and a stable phase for at least 1 week. treatment responders will be included in part 2 of the study (randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-grouped). part 2 is the placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group randomized withdrawal phase of the study.

this is a randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, enriched enrollment randomized withdrawal study assessing the efficacy and safety of nabilone for non-motor symptoms in patients with parkinson´s disease. nabilone is an analogue of tetrahydrocannabinol (thc), the psychoactive component of cannabis. nabilone acts as a partial agonist on both cannabinoid 1 (cb1) and cannabinoid 2 (cb2) receptor in humans and therefore mimics the effect of thc but with more predictable side effects and less euphoria. part 1 is the open-label dose adjustment phase of the study. in part 1, eligible subjects, who have signed the informed consent form at the screening visit, will receive open-label nabilone starting with a dosage of 0.25 mg in the evening. during dose titration and optimization, nabilone will be titrated in 0.25 mg increments (increase by 0.25 mg/ every one to four days) up to a maximum dose of 1 mg twice daily. patients should be on a stable nabilone dose for at least 1 week afterwards until baseline visit (v 0). part 2 is the placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group randomized withdrawal phase of the study. at baseline visit, treatment responders will be included in part 2 of the study (randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-grouped). responders are randomized in a 1:1 ratio at baseline visit to receive either nabilone or matching placebo for 4 weeks + 2 days. the placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized withdrawal phase will end with a clinic visit (termination visit v 1). following this, the study medication will be tapered in all patients. during this period the patients will receive phone calls every other day. a safety telephone call and a safety follow-up visit will be performed.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: in order to be eligible for the study subjects must meet all inclusion criteria: 1. age ≥30 years 2. diagnosis of parkinson´s disease (pd): pd should be either de novo or on stable medication without disturbing motor fluctuations or dyskinesia. 3. nms with a score of ≥4 on mds-updrs part 1. one of the following domains have to be affected with a score ≥2: 1.4 (anxious mood) or 1.9 (pain) 4. on a stable regimen of anti-parkinson medications for at least 30 days prior to screening and willing to continue the same doses and regimens during study participation 5. any other current and allowed prescription/non-prescription medications and/or nutritional supplements taken regularly must have been at a stable dose and regimen for at least 30 days prior to screening, and subject must be willing to continue the same doses and regimens during study participation 6. patient is informed and had enough time and opportunity to think about his/her participation in the study and has signed a current institutional review board-approved informed consent form 7. contraception 1. women of childbearing potential must use or attest an acceptable method\* of contraception starting 4 weeks prior to study drug administration and for a minimum of 1 month after study completion. 2. men with a potentially fertile partner must be willing to use an acceptable method of contraception for the duration of the study and for 3 months after study drug discontinuation or have had a vasectomy. exclusion criteria: patients with any of the following characteristics will be excluded from entering the study: 1. patient previously participated in any study with nabilone. 2. current use of cannabinoids or use of cannabinoids within 30 days prior to screening. 3. patient is currently participating in or has participated in another study of investigational products within 30 days prior to screening. 4. patient has any form of secondary or atypical parkinsonism (e.g., drug-induced, post stroke). 5. patient presents with motor complications which are, based on the investigator's judgment, not adequately controlled (i.e. a score ≥2 on one of the items of the mds-updrs part iv at screening) 6. hoehn and yahr stage \> 3 7. evidence of disturbing (i.e. requiring treatment) impulse control disorder in the participant. can be resolved through a structural interview during screening period. 8. history of neurosurgical intervention for pd 9. presence of symptomatic orthostatic hypotension at screening (mds-updrs 1.12 \> 2) 10. use of prohibited medication (e.g. benzodiazepines (except for clonazepam up to a maximum of 1.5 mg per d), lithium, opioids, buspirone, muscle relaxing agents, central nervous system depressing substances, ...) 11. patients with laboratory values that are out-of-range at screening (or within 4 weeks prior to screening) and haven´t been reviewed and documented as not clinically significant by the investigator. lab tests can be repeated for confirmation. 12. patients with known or newly diagnosed sinus tachycardia in ecg evaluation at screening or within 4 weeks prior to screening. 13. presence of an acute or chronic major psychiatric disorder (e.g., major depressive disorder, psychosis) or symptom (e.g., hallucinations, agitation, paranoia) (mds-updrs 1.2 and/or 1.3 \> 2) 14. patients who had a recent suicidal attempt (active, interrupted, aborted) within the past five years or report suicidal ideation within the past 6 months. 15. presence of dementia (mds-updrs 1.1 \> 2, mini-mental state examination of \<24 at the screening visit) 16. clinically significant or unstable medical or surgical condition at screening or baseline visit that may preclude safety and the completion of the study participation (based on the investigator's judgment). 17. patients with moderate or severe hepatic or renal impairment. 18. patient has a history of chronic alcohol or drug abuse within the last 2 years. 19. women of child-bearing potential who do not practice an acceptable method of birth control 20. pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant during the course of the study and nursing women. 21. patients who are knowingly hypersensitive to any of the components of the investigational medicinal product or excipients. 22. patient is legally incapacitated or persons held in an institution by legal or official order 23. persons with any kind of dependency on the investigator or employed by the sponsor or investigator

Keywords: parkinson´s disease cannabinoids non-motor symptoms